Obliterate
by S.E. Mellark
Summary: A chance encounter with two of the most unorthodox wolves he'd ever met forced Toboe to come to terms with what he'd spent so long trying to suppress.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: _So, I'm doing this to get back into the flow of writing for the Wolf's Rain fandom. I want to get back to _Need A Second To Breathe_ so badly that it hurts, so hopefully this will help guide me back into the zone. Plus, I just love Toboe. So baby. I could cry over him for the rest of my life, easy. I don't think this will be long, nor will the chapters be too long, as you can see ;P

_Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and I most likely never will._

* * *

Toboe was only a pup when he first accepted the likelihood that he was going to die.

It was in the harshest months of winter, the first time that Toboe had been left to his own devices to survive. Unable to even hunt properly, he'd eaten bark and the carcasses of animals that had succumbed to the chill of the season before he did. It was a haunting and terrifying existence, and Toboe would like to forget it if only he were able.

He was at his lowest point when he decided death would be merciful. He'd wandered into the territory of a large wolf pack whose residents didn't much care for malnourished wolf pups encroaching on their land. Hunger and loneliness had driven Toboe into the heart of their territory, and when he was finally chased out, he left a substantial trail of blood in his wake.

They didn't bother to go after him. The alphas of that pack knew that the scrawny wolf they'd mauled wouldn't survive the night, and they howled and snarled at his back as Toboe limped across the frozen river that marked the end of that pack's territory.

The crows had circled him. Toboe watched them through the blood that dripped from his torn ear into his eyes, and at one point, the young wolf was certain he felt one land on his back, though he was too delirious at that point to do anything about it. Finally, when more of his blood was soaking into the freshly fallen snow than circulating throughout his body, Toboe allowed himself to stop moving.

The snow that had once nipped at his paws and made sleep nearly impossible was so warm as Toboe sunk into it, the crows cawing to one another in the treetops. It reminded Toboe of how things had been back in his den, a place that he barely remembered but still cherished in the darkest recesses of his mind. He remembered he'd been happy there. He'd been happy when he left it, too, but he'd had company then. He hadn't been alone.

Toboe was no stranger to death. It had followed him all his life, and as the crows fluttered down with the snow, the young wolf was prepared to greet death like an old friend; but just as the crows started to pick at the wounds inflicted by the wolves from across the river, a snarl pierced the air and Toboe heard wings flapping frantically in an effort to get away. Alive enough to feel curious, the near-starved wolf pup forced his eyes to open.

Paws. White ones that would have blended almost perfectly into the snow if it weren't for the black feathers caught in the claws and the blood that stained the fur. Toboe's insides heaved in panic as he slowly realized that the newcomer was another wolf, and the whimper that escaped through his clamped jaws sounded as pathetic as Toboe felt.

"Don't move." A voice said, calm and clear, strong yet soothing. Unnerving didn't even begin to describe the situation. It had been so long since Toboe had come across someone who didn't immediately try to kill him. "You'll bleed out."

Toboe didn't bother to say anything. He could smell the blood in the air, and if it hadn't been his own, his mouth probably would have been watering. He was just waiting for the white wolf to finish what the wolves across the river had started. It would have been a kindness.

The paws moved out of Toboe's line of sight, and when he finally lost consciousness, it was to the sensation of a tongue rasping over one of the wounds on his side, so much warmer than the snow.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: _I literally had the _worst _time at school earlier, so to come home to those reviews welcoming me back to the fandom really made my day :) So, thank you for that! You guys are too precious.

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When Toboe came to, it wasn't long before he found himself wishing for death again.

The white wolf in the woods had spared Toboe's life for whatever reason, dragging him back to his makeshift den instead of leaving him to the crows. Toboe learned quickly that his name was Kiba, and he had a companion named Hige, a thick-furred, loudmouth of a wolf that was opposite to Kiba in almost every way.

Toboe couldn't figure either of them out. They were both males, and while it wasn't odd for adolescent male wolves to leave the pack of their birth once they were old enough, Kiba and Hige didn't seem to have any interest in finding another group to call their own any time soon.

Hige seemed to find a certain amount of amusement in pushing Kiba to the edge of his endurance, but no matter how hard the brown-furred wolf prodded, Kiba never snapped. It was odd. Toboe could tell just from observing them that Kiba was the alpha male of their coalition, Hige just along for the ride. Why the yellow-eyed wolf didn't assert his dominance was beyond Toboe, but it was unsettling to say the least.

Kiba was the leader, but he was entirely too soft-spoken. He even had a bit of an awkward side that even Hige didn't possess, but it was one of Kiba's qualities that almost made Toboe want to trust him. Since there were only two of them, Toboe wasn't quite sure what Hige's role in the pack was, but he was certainly more outspoken than Kiba, and he didn't hesitate when it came to throwing his weight around.

Under different circumstances, Toboe could have seen himself growing to like them.

The young pup spent the winter with them, recovering from his injuries and building up his strength. Kiba was away from the den for days on end – patrolling the area, Hige often said – so it was mostly up to Hige to catch food for Toboe and make sure none of his wounds became infected.

The sun had made multiple journeys through the sky by the time Toboe worked up the nerve to say what had been on his mind ever since Kiba saved him from dying out in the snow.

"You should have let me die." Kiba had been gone for almost two days at that point, leaving Toboe in Hige's ever-pleasant company; not that Toboe minded any. He preferred Hige's soft amber eyes and playful spirit to Kiba's piercing yellow gaze and aloof demeanor. "Why didn't you?"

Hige had been grooming himself, licking at his fur languidly in preparation for a nap, but he paused when Toboe spoke up, frozen mid-lick as his ears stood erect. "… Did you _want_ Kiba to leave you there?" Hige asked eventually, staring at Toboe as if the younger wolf had sprouted a second head. "You were pretty messed up when he brought you back here. If I were you, I'd be grateful."

"I'm not _un_grateful, just – " Toboe looked to the mouth of the small den, inherently terrified for reasons he couldn't understand. He was still pretty young, and the older wolves put him on edge. He didn't want to upset them, but he also couldn't put how he'd felt the day Kiba found him into words. "I don't understand."

"Sorry to break it to you, but we're not the kind of wolves to leave a starving pup out in the wilderness by himself." In all the months Toboe had known Hige, he'd never heard the older wolf sound quite that angry before. "I don't know what happened to you, and I won't ask, but don't lump us in with whoever it was that put you in that condition, okay?"

Toboe only shook his head, and Hige huffed in annoyance before curling up in a tight ball, finally ready for his nap. It didn't matter what Hige said. Sooner or later, they were going to be sorry for rescuing Toboe, of that the wolf pup was certain.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: _Again, sorry these are so flippin' short. Normally I write longer stuff, but I think I'm adopting the philosophy that you can say a lot with few words? Idk, it's new for me. And hey, this is a whole 100 words longer than the other two!

* * *

Thorns and burs stuck to his body, easily pushing through his thin fur and scratching and tearing as Toboe darted through the trees. The scent of blood was thick in the air, hot and musky and suffocating, and terror began to mount the longer the young wolf remained in the dark forest.

"Toboe!" Toboe skidded to a stop, spinning around in frantic circles as he peered through the darkness, desperate to locate the voice calling out to him. It was faint, but the tawny-eyed wolf had always had exceptional hearing. Thus far, his ability has done him no favors. "Toboe, where are you?"

"I'm here!" Toboe cried, whining in distress as he continued to spin, jerking left and right, unsure of where to go. The voice was coming from every direction, bouncing off the trees and soaking into the ground beneath Toboe's paws. "I'm here, I'm coming. But where are you? I can't see you!"

"Toboe? Toboe!"

Tawny eyes snapped open when the voice crying out changed, and Toboe sat up quickly, struggling to keep his breathing under control. He was back in Kiba and Hige's den, as safe as he could possibly be, but he was still on edge. It was dark, probably almost midnight, and it took Toboe another tense moment before he realized that he'd been dreaming again.

He glanced around to find that Kiba had left his spot beside Hige and was standing over him, fur standing on edge and yellow eyes piercing in the gloom. Toboe blinked up at the older wolf, instinctively shying away. Kiba seemed to notice and took a half-step back. "Are you okay?" Kiba asked tersely, as if he were prepared to fight off any unseen force that could have been disturbing the younger wolf so late. "You were crying out in your sleep."

"Was I?" Toboe murmured, sinking back down into the leaves when his limbs started to tremble, tucking his tail close to his body. It was especially cold at night, but Toboe wasn't in a place to huddle with Hige and Kiba for warmth. They'd tried to convince him multiple times that it would help to improve his health, but just the thought of being touched by another wolf was enough to make Toboe physically sick. Even if it meant spending each night shivering in his fur, he wasn't going to cross that barrier. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You don't have to apologize." Hige piped up, voice drowsy and thick with sleep as he watched Toboe from his spot on the other side of the den. He'd yet to move, head still resting on his paws, but he was looking more coherent with each passing second. "We all have nightmares."

Toboe stiffened, and he couldn't help the glare that he sent Hige's way. "I was _not_ having a nightmare."

Hige snorted. "Coulda fooled me."

"Hush." Kiba said sternly, using one of his hind paws to scrape leaves and pine needles back into Hige's face, eliciting a sneeze from the other wolf. "Are you okay now, Toboe?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because – "

"I said I'm _fine_." Toboe snapped, turning his back on Kiba to lie facing the wall on his side of the den. In all seriousness, the pup was far from fine. He remembered his dream explicitly and all the events that inspired it, and if he wasn't careful, it was going to happen again.

Toboe wasn't a mean-spirited wolf. He enjoyed the company of others and desperately hated to be alone. Being rude to Kiba was the last thing Toboe wanted to do, but he didn't have any other option. His health was improving, and Hige had been showing him how to hunt properly even if Toboe wasn't strong enough to leave the den yet.

Once Toboe could move without pain shooting up his limbs, he would leave this place behind and travel to some faraway land where other wolves were rare. Kiba and Hige and the kindness they'd shown him would only be a distant memory.

He both dreaded and anticipated that day.

There were a few nearly unbearable moments of silence before Toboe heard Kiba sighing to himself. "Okay." He said quietly, and Toboe listened as he returned to Hige's side and settled down for the second time that night.

Toboe stared straight ahead as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, and when Kiba's and Hige's breathing finally evened out once more with sleep, the young wolf allowed a single whimper to escape him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time!

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Toboe's desire to bolt only grew stronger with each passing day.

Companionship was almost foreign to him at that point in his life. Oftentimes he would lie awake in the early morning hours, listening to the wind blow outside, only to receive the shock of his life when Hige woke up with a snort or Kiba stumbled in from his early morning patrol. It was almost too easy to forget that he wasn't fending for himself, but then, it was impossible to ignore.

Kiba and Hige obviously didn't know what to do about him. They would murmur to one another when they believed Toboe to be asleep, but the young wolf had gotten so good at closing himself off to things he didn't want to think about that their voices meshed together almost perfectly, forming some language Toboe didn't have a prayer of understanding.

It was just as he wanted it. Back in the old days, survival meant focusing only on the small slivers of hope that promised a brighter tomorrow and absolutely nothing else. It was best to ignore the whispers of deceit and revolution, because no one wanted to be labeled a rebel unjustly. All things considered, Toboe hadn't spent an especially large amount of time in the pack of his birth, but it felt like a lifetime.

One day, Kiba suggested that Toboe leave the den for small amounts of time once the sun went up. "You won't get any better if your muscles deteriorate." He'd said simply.

Toboe had to agree, and he wondered why he'd never thought of that before. A small part of him whispered to be careful, but the young wolf ignored it. So each day, when the sun was about halfway across the sky, Toboe would trail after Hige as the older, larger wolf bounded out of the den. "Fresh air!" He'd exclaimed the first day they went out, shaking out his thick ruff while Toboe looked on. "Man, I don't get enough of this anymore. Guess it's the price I have to pay for pup-sitting you, huh?"

The pup in question ignored the comment and focused on putting one paw in front of the other without stumbling.

After many weeks of remaining immobile underground, Toboe finally managed to survey his surroundings properly while exercising with Hige. The entrance that led into the den was an obvious hole in an otherwise gapless array of fallen logs. Toboe believed that in the spring and summer seasons, the foliage would grow big enough that the entrance wouldn't be so obvious.

The den site itself was in the middle of a part of the forest Toboe had never been to before. Until that day the wolves had mauled him bloody, the young wolf had previously had no reason to cross the river and into this territory. There were plenty of places for prey to hide that would be easy to sniff out, and Hige found his fair share of small animals startled out of their sleep by two large predators walking by.

Their trips were interesting, to say the least. Sometimes, if he was awake or even around, Kiba would accompany them, ready to steady Toboe if he stumbled or hustle them back to the den if something seemed off. Toboe wasn't quite sure what they were both so afraid of, why Kiba had to spend extended periods of time away from the den.

As far as he could tell, this part of the forest was safe. He hadn't smelled or caught sight of a single wolf or any other animal that would pose a threat to them, but that never seemed to satisfy Kiba. The white-furred wolf, as lax and gentle as he was, always appeared to be on edge. Perhaps Hige was used to it, but it bothered Toboe.

What was out there that had Kiba so tense all the time?

Toboe ignored his growing fear of what might have been lurking in the trees, instead focusing on building his strength back up. He was dead-set on leaving, wanted to cross the mountains he'd seen in the western skies and leave his past and everything it entailed altogether. The jagged peaks and rugged terrain he'd seen in the distance didn't seem like an ideal place for a wolf pup to be traversing on his own, but Toboe would die trying if he had to. Anything to get away.

He pushed himself to the point of collapse almost everyday, and while Hige griped that it wasn't healthy and Kiba looked on in concern, Toboe kept at it. Frankly, it was the healthiest he'd been all his life, though he was still unnaturally scrawny, especially compared to Hige and Kiba.

It didn't go unnoticed. At nearly nine months old, Toboe should've been bursting with energy. As it was, he tired easily and had little patience for the games Hige sometimes tried to drag him into. Of course, he was still recovering from life-threatening wounds, but it was probably obvious to them that Toboe hadn't been in the best shape even before he was attacked.

Hige tried his best to lift his spirits whenever they left the safety of the den, though most of the time, Toboe was able to tune him out, too focused on walking farther than he had the previous day. Hige always stayed just a little bit ahead of Toboe as they walked, talking to the younger wolf or just to thin air.

One day, Toboe reached a point that the sound of his heart beating was starting to hurt his ears. He was terribly exhausted, and Hige was walking behind him for a change, assessing if the wound that had been dealt to one of Toboe's hind legs was hindering his ability to walk properly. Hige was usually encouraging, but something had seemed off about him that day. Toboe realized it when Hige said, "Shake a leg, runt!"

Toboe froze mid-step, and it wasn't until he felt Hige brush against his tail that he swung around, teeth bared and hackles raised. "Don't _ever _call me that again!" He snarled, startling the older wolf, before he took off in the direction of the den, ignoring Hige's shouts of his name and the horrible pain in his left leg.

Kiba returned not long after and assessed the damage Toboe had done to himself, prodding at young wolf's leg with his paws and then his teeth, trying to see how much Toboe could bear. "I think you wrenched a muscle." The white-furred wolf said eventually, his tone apologetic when Toboe released a groan of frustration. "The wound is bleeding a little again. You should take it easy."

"Yeah." Toboe muttered, refusing to look at Hige. The guilt that consumed him after he snapped at the older wolf still clawed at his insides. He hated that those phantom memories of his past still got to him enough to make Toboe that angry, but he could hardly control it.

Hige's innocent comment had triggered some monster within Toboe, the exact thing he'd been running from in the first place. Once upon a time, that sort of thing had been encouraged. If the little runt had enough spunk in him to be feisty, then so did everyone else in the pack.

He'd been an example, an unwanted but useful anomaly; and for the first time, Toboe found himself wondering if he really was just as vicious as they'd always wanted him to be.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: _I really do hate school. I have almost no time to engage in my hobbies and unwind. Ridiculous, I say! Anyway, this takes place right after the last chapter.

* * *

That night, Toboe had trouble sleeping. He couldn't say why, exactly, only knew that the sounds of Hige's and Kiba's breathing didn't lull him to sleep like they usually did. Perhaps it was the dull ache in his leg or the knot in his stomach, both afflictions demanding every ounce of Toboe's attention and refusing to let him stray for even a second.

The wolf pup watched Kiba and Hige for a while, tawny eyes half-lidded in the dark. He still felt badly for snapping at Hige, but the guilt had dissipated somewhat. Hige hadn't exactly been asking for it, but he should've just kept his mouth shut instead of letting his impatience shine through; but then, Toboe in turn should've managed his own temper.

Toboe sighed softly, tucking his tail closer to his body as a cold wind managed to reach him from the mouth of the den. Hige shifted slightly in his sleep, jostling Kiba's head a little – which was resting in the curve of Hige's spine – though the white-furred wolf didn't move an inch.

The older two wolves always slept like that, curled around one another with Kiba's head laying on some part of Hige's back. Toboe wasn't sure why. As far as he could tell, they weren't litter mates. Rogue males normally didn't act that relaxed around one another, even if they were in some sort of coalition.

Frustrated enough to give up on sleeping, Toboe slowly worked up the incentive to get to his paws. He moved slowly so as not to wake Hige and Kiba, and he trod carefully through the leaves as he crept up the short tunnel and out into the open, mindful of his injured hind leg.

All things considered, it was a warm night. Warmer than most nights in winter, anyway. The snow wasn't as deep as it had been when Toboe first arrived here, and he could actually see the top of his paw when he took a step. The sky was clear, countless of stars burning impossibly bright in the sky, and despite the cold, a warmth filled Toboe as he gazed at him.

His grandmother used to tell him stories about those stars, how they symbolized the hopes and dreams of every living creature. Even after his grandmother died and Toboe found himself alone in the wilderness, the wolf pup would look up at those stars as a reminder that even a runt like him had a star or two. He often tried to pick out which ones were his, or his grandmother's, or even Tsume's…

Toboe tore his gaze away from the stars, sitting on his haunches heavily and allowing his head to hang. "Granny." He said, staring forlornly at the snow surrounding his paws. "I know you said to never give up on finding Paradise, but… I don't want to go there alone."

"What was that?"

Toboe flinched, swinging his head around to find Kiba standing at the entrance to the den, shaking his fur free of any dirt and leaves before trotting over to Toboe's side. "Oh, I was just… talking to myself." Toboe stammered, pawing at the snow nervously as Kiba sat down beside him. Hige he could handle, but he wasn't around Kiba nearly as much.

"I can see that." Kiba was obviously amused, his voice a deep rumble in his chest, and when Toboe spared a glance at him, Kiba was looking up at the stars. "Could you not sleep? Is your leg bothering you?"

"A little." Toboe admitted, though he wasn't sure why. "But it's nothing I can't handle. I just have a lot on my mind."

Kiba nodded, looking away from the sky and downward to where Toboe was still pawing at the ground, dirt gathering underneath his claws since he'd moved aside all the snow. When the pup noticed the older wolf watching, he stopped his movements. "The snow is starting to melt." Kiba said, noting Toboe's earlier observation. "Spring will be here soon."

"I'm glad." It would be easier to travel in the spring without worrying about the cold making his wounds ache, among other things. "I can't imagine staying down in the den for a few more months."

"It would do you some good. You really don't do much playing." Kiba said, as if it were something Toboe hadn't realized before. "Your health would probably improve faster if you moved around a bit more."

"I don't really care about playing." That wasn't necessarily true; Toboe had just never been given the opportunity to mess around when he was younger. At this point, he was just too tired for it. He hoped Kiba wouldn't ask why that was. "It's… boring."

Toboe could've bitten himself. Play hadn't been fun when he was younger, but that was only because there weren't other puppies to join him, nor was there anything to actually play _with. _Of course Kiba wouldn't understand that.

But the older wolf said nothing. He didn't even give Toboe an odd look, only shifted a little so he could scratch behind his right ear with his hind leg. "You'll be leaving us soon, then." He said suddenly. "Once the snow melts completely."

Toboe blinked owlishly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Over the mountains."

"On your own?"

"No. I have a friend… but we were separated at the start of the winter." Toboe said quietly, reminded of his dreams. A horrible shiver went down his spine, setting his fur on edge. He wanted to believe what he was saying, but smelling all that blood… and after all this time… it couldn't be possible. Toboe would be on his own once he left here. "We'll be travelling together."

Kiba relaxed slightly, and Toboe felt a lurch in the pit of his stomach. "Well, that's good. We've enjoyed having you, you know."

"I've enjoyed being here." Toboe said, and he was startled at the realization, had spent so long trying to hate being with them. "Honestly, I was a little tired of running."

"That, I can understand." Kiba said, getting to his paws before Toboe had a chance to ask him what he meant. "Well, we should get back. Hige will only complain if he wakes up and we're gone."

Toboe huffed, though his tail was dragging through the snow behind him in response to his amusement. "We wouldn't want that."

And so Toboe followed Kiba back into the warmth of the den, and although every fiber of his being was suddenly telling him to do just the opposite, he settled down in his lonesome corner, set apart from the only wolves to ever treat him as if he was worth something.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: _I'm on vacation, and since everyone is at the pool, I figured I'd whip up something real quick for this story. Sorry for the delay in updates! School's finally out, so I'll have more time now. Maybe now I can finally work on _Need a Second to Breathe_ after all these freaking months!

* * *

Toboe steadily healed from his injuries, though his torn ear would always serve as a reminder of that awful winter spent mostly on his own. He settled into Hige and Kiba's routine with little trouble, finding it much easier to deal with the two wolves now that he had a clear goal in mind as to what he would do after he left them.

The mountains. They were his only salvation. He'd forgotten a lot where his old pack was concerned, mostly as a means to protect himself, but the wolf did know with the utmost certainty that none of them, not even the alphas, would dare try to cross the mountains. What happened once – and if – Toboe managed to cross them was anyone's guess, but he wasn't going to be deterred. He owed Tsume that much, at least.

The nightmares didn't go away. They only grew worse with time if anything, and it got to a point where Toboe didn't have a prayer of hiding their existence from either of the wolves who'd saved his life. Neither Hige nor Kiba had anything to say to him in the morning about how his whimpers kept them awake at night, but Toboe knew what was happening.

His own inability to keep his terror at bay was what had driven him from his home in the first place. Toboe wasn't a wolf skilled at keeping secrets, but the ones that he did have, he guarded fiercely, kept them caged and comfortable in a slot of his brain rarely used or visited.

The rest of the winter passed with little difficulty. Toboe actually got around to playing in the snow once or twice, but only when Kiba was gone and Hige wasn't paying attention. Some part of him still expected for the two of them to turn on him, even if they'd never done anything to suggest that they would.

They were just so… secretive. Toboe had stayed in their den for months and yet he knew next to nothing about them. They'd been friends for a long time, that much Toboe could gather, but they weren't brothers. Kiba was fiercely protective of Hige, who in turn was fiercely protective of Kiba. They looked out for one another and protected their own.

Actually, the two of them reminded Toboe of a wolf he'd known what felt like a lifetime ago.

Tsume's loss still plagued Toboe. Night or day, there was hardly a moment the young wolf didn't think about him. Tsume was most likely dead, Toboe had come to accept that, but the guilt that clawed at his insides refused to die away. If he thought it over rationally, Tsume's death wasn't Toboe's fault.

But the fact still remained that he'd run away. They'd promised to stay together and Toboe had bolted like a frightened baby rabbit. The shame was enough to kill him in ways life on his own had not.

One morning, Toboe woke up to a nose pressing into his muzzle, and when tawny eyes blinked open, he almost thought for a moment that Tsume was standing over him.

But it was only Kiba, white fur so dim in the dark that it almost looked to be gray. "Come take a look." The wolf said as he pulled away, yellow eyes positively vibrant in the dark.

Toboe looked up at him blearily for a few moments, the last remnants of the scent of blood fading away into his subconscious to return come nightfall. "Huh? Is something wrong?"

Kiba shook his broad head and headed up the narrow tunnel leading outside. After a brief moment, Toboe hefted himself up and followed after him.

Hige was waiting for them, and Toboe watched in poorly disguised amusement as the older wolf rolled around in the dirt and grass despite the sneezing fit it caused. "Kiba, Toboe, look at this!" He barked, rolling onto his stomach to look at them directly, tongue dangerously close to lolling out of his mouth. "It's dirt!"

"We can see that." Kiba said while Toboe took a look around. He'd heard the birds chirping in the light doze he'd previously been in, but he'd never thought to question as to why they were all suddenly active.

The only thing that even resembled snow was Kiba's fur. It had all started to melt in the previous week, but it was completely gone now, having disappeared overnight. Toboe had missed seeing so much green, so much life, and he understood Hige's urge to roll around in it.

"It'll be easier to find food now." Kiba said, and Toboe realized that the statement was addressed to him when he found that the white wolf was staring at him. "Everyone will be out enjoying the sun and finding food of their own. Maybe now would be the perfect time to teach you to hunt."

Toboe's ear twitched while Hige jumped to his paws. "Lessons begin effective immediately!" The brown-furred wolf declared. His behavior was reminding Toboe of a pup leaving the den for the first time. "This should be fun."

"But I – " Toboe found himself protesting without putting much thought into what he was saying. "I have to go. My friend… he could be waiting for me."

"Those mountains are like a three day's journey from here!" Hige exclaimed, and Toboe realized that Kiba must have told Hige what he'd said about heading for the mountains. Toboe couldn't recall saying anything to Hige about it. "What are you going to eat in the meantime, huh?"

"At least let us do this much." Kiba interjected. Toboe ogled him. As if they hadn't done enough already! "Healing you up will have been for nothing if you die because of an empty stomach before you even get where you're going."

"I can go longer than three days without food." Toboe said grumpily, tail lashing. "I've done it before."

Silence. Toboe turned over what he'd said in his head and found the bewildered, somewhat disturbed glance Hige was flashing Kiba's way to be justified. The wolf pup had to struggle to keep his ears straight.

"Learn to hunt first." Kiba said eventually. "Please."

Toboe didn't see why it was so important to them, but he relented in the end. After all, there was no way they were grasping at straws just to get him to stay.


	7. Chapter 7

Tsume didn't want to leave with Hige, Kiba, and Blue. Blue died. Tsume realized he didn't want Toboe to live there and formulated escape plan.

_Author's Note: _

**Chapter 15**

As it turned out, Toboe was a natural hunter. He was diligent in his lessons and did whatever Kiba and Hige asked of him. Killing was something he'd never been found of, even if it was for the sake of his own survival, so the speed at which he picked everything up surprised even him.

"It took me nearly three times as long to master even the basics." Hige said after Toboe's first successful kill on his own, nearly a week after they began lessons. Toboe had slid through the undergrowth soundlessly, almost like a snake, and by the time the field mouse he'd been stalking realized what was happening, Toboe had already pinned it beneath one of his paws.

"Some of us are just gifted." Toboe said, voice deceptively toneless, and Kiba barked out a laugh while Hige sputtered indignantly.

Toboe had never expected how being able to hunt freely on his own made him feel. He was a little over a year old at that point, so by all standards he was where he should have been if not a little behind, but before he met Kiba and Hige, he hadn't had the foggiest idea how to hunt properly. No one had bothered to teach him, not even Tsume, but that was mostly because most of his expertise had been spent trying to formulate an escape plan.

For the first time in his life, Toboe actually felt confident. Self-sufficient. Like if something were to go wrong in his life again, he might actually stand a chance at surviving. He supposed that had been Kiba and Hige's intention all along, and he was so grateful to them.

Everything crept up on him. One moment he was struggling to catch even the smallest of prey, and the next, Kiba was telling Toboe that there was nothing left for him to learn, that he would be fine if he just practiced.

At first, Toboe had been delighted, but then he realized… that it was time for him to leave.

He spent one last night with them, curled up in his secluded corner. He didn't sleep, couldn't have even if he wanted to. There was a knot of dread in the wolf pup's stomach. The den he'd spent the winter in was the first stable place he'd had to live in almost since his birth. It even smelled like him underneath Kiba's and Hige's musky, adult scents, and it made the mere idea of leaving almost unbearable.

Toboe knew he had to get moving. Tsume was gone, but he was not. He owed it to his friend to continue on with their mission, the dream that gave them a reason to keep going when it seemed as if the whole world was against them. Toboe had to reach the mountains. For Tsume. He just had to.

When dawn started to break, Toboe exited the den as quietly as he could. Goodbyes had never been his strong suit, and he couldn't promise to not whimper like a newborn pup if he had to face the older wolves. So, he stood in the early morning mist and stared off in the direction he was supposed to go, trying to muster up the courage to take a step forward.

That was when he heard movement from the tunnel.

"You leaving without saying goodbye?" Hige asked dryly, yawning so widely that Toboe could see his teeth even in the gloom, and Kiba crawled out of the hole right after. "That's not very nice."

"I'm sorry." Toboe said quietly, lowering his head in submission. He hadn't meant to make them angry. "I thought it was better."

"Better for who?" Hige grumbled, though he fell silent when Kiba nudged him with his shoulder. "I don't know. We're gonna miss you."

Toboe blinked. "Really?"

Kiba gave him an odd look. "Of course. You spent most of the winter with us. Getting used to not having you around is going to be difficult."

Toboe was doubtful. He really hadn't known them that long, and it was ridiculous how attached he was to them; but he was still a pup, young and impressionable. He'd been lonely when he met them and would be lonely again without them, but he didn't think it would take the older two wolves all that long to forget about him.

"Thank you so much for everything you did for me." Toboe said with as much sincerity as he could muster. He was eternally grateful, of course, but he'd never thanked anybody before, had no reason to. "I would have died if it weren't for you two."

They both nodded, and Toboe turned away, doing his best to ignore the sadness he could smell wafting off their fur. He took a deep breath and took a step forward, but then he couldn't move.

Fear struck him, fear of the unknown and of what he knew was lurking beyond the trees, across the river. Toboe doubted his old pack would come looking for him, but no one had ever successfully escaped before. He didn't doubt they would hunt him down just to kill him for running, like they did Tsume.

"Toboe?" Kiba said gently. "What's the matter?"

Kiba was a kind alpha, the only one Toboe knew aside from Tsume. The white wolf didn't abuse his authority, and he genuinely seemed to care for those in his care. Toboe felt safe with him; and then there was Hige, the jovial beta who loved games more than any pup Toboe had met. He was large and warm, physically and emotionally. He reminded Toboe somewhat of his granny.

He didn't want to leave them.

"I'm tired of running." Toboe found himself saying, and he swayed on his paws, suddenly fatigued. Not sleeping the previous night had been a terrible idea.

"Then stay." Hige said, his voice somewhat hopeful.

"Okay." Toboe replied without missing a beat.


End file.
